AV Rant #717: All Your Amps are Belong to Us
Thank you to DJ from https://www.brightsidehometheater.com/ for being our guest co-host last week!
Our Listeners of the Week are Ian and Eric for their donations, and our 125 Patreon Patrons, including Enrique. We also want to thank Adam, Shawn, Matt, Nathan, Shannon, John, Mike, and Brandon for their notes of gratitude to us for keeping the podcast going. We really appreciate the encouragement. And thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!
Pictures shown in this episode:
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmQMoRH5
In the news:
– Xbox Series X & Series S launch details were revealed: https://is.gd/pEjhSy
– Via Abhue – Xbox Series consoles will support Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision for games: https://is.gd/3KflkV
– Xbox is getting DTS:X bitstream output: https://is.gd/4BmHDo
– NVidia is buying Arm for $40 billion: https://is.gd/EvneRz
– Apple changes their app store rules for game streaming: https://is.gd/7e7Fo5
– Oculus Quest 2 info was leaked: https://is.gd/jkxwOI
Comments:
– Gurinder is facing challenges with his in-ceiling speaker installation in his drop tile ceiling,
0:27:44 prompting Rob to mention his new go-to on-ceiling option.
– Monoprice HT-35 Satellites: https://is.gd/6XMZhm
– VideoSecu ceiling speaker mounts: https://is.gd/muKzkh
– Jim B. thinks a styrofoam cooler might make a super cheap backer box solution, but we worry about fire safety code.
– Marc “The Wood Whisperer” (https://thewoodwhisperer.com/) shares his positive experience with his quiet Mitsubishi mini-split air conditioner.
0:34:34 Nick B. asks for further comments about mini-split AC, and whether his installer is correct that he should just keep his existing ductwork.
0:44:25 Adam M. gets full details on building a seating riser. And we discuss how to wire two pairs of side Surrounds, duplicate Top Middle speakers, and a potential three-Receiver setup to matrix six overhead channels.
1:00:18 Shawn W. gets suggestions for $1,000 TVs for his parents:
– 65″ Vizio M8: https://is.gd/e85i8L
– 65″ TCL R635: https://is.gd/XzcxP0
– 65″ Vizio P-Series: https://is.gd/1wadfY
– 75″ Hisense H8G: https://is.gd/TpKtnj
– 75″ TCL R635: https://is.gd/RrQILS
1:04:00 Matt H. wants in-wall speaker suggestions, or other “clean” speaker options. And also cheap 55″ TV suggestions.
– HSU HIW-1: https://is.gd/axdjly
– Klipsch Reference Premiere on-walls: https://is.gd/VftVyf
– TCL S535: https://is.gd/j8UBFQ
1:14:36 Ted M. tried his high Wattage, Class-D amplifiers, and his listening experience didn’t match our advice, so he wants to know if we’re potentially holding back people’s maximum performance. It’s rant time!
1:34:17 Karl wants a way to convert S-Video to component video (and eventually HDMI), and which 3-channel amplifier we’d recommend for Martin Logan electrostatics.
– Ambery SDV1: https://is.gd/6YgQUG
– HDTV CM398M: https://is.gd/FAc3Nc
– Monoprice Monolith 3X: https://is.gd/3TZMMn
– Emotiva XPA-3: https://is.gd/fKb0z8
1:40:21 Nick B. asks about native vs. auto color space, and which he should use on his TV.
1:42:32 Dennis wants to know if it’s worth running room correction if he makes a lot of manual changes afterwards.
1:45:33 John D. asks if it matters which source device he uses to play the highest quality available from streaming music services.
– Devices that support Dolby Atmos Music from Tidal: https://is.gd/ab1Ygf
1:50:42 Aaron M. asks if he should downgrade his choice of subwoofers in order to get four instead of two. And he asks if he should get a 65″ OLED or a 75″ LCD TV.
1:54:28 Christian S. wants to know what the PlayStation 5 Tempest 3D Audio Engine is all about, and how it compares to Dolby Atmos for games.
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